Trips & meetings
Rainbow Skifield, January 2023, Anthony Wright
Field trips
Field trips are held on the third Sunday of every month throughout the year. Trips may be rescheduled if the weather on the day is not suitable. The committee puts together the programme of trips, and committee members and others are responsible for organising and leading each trip. We welcome suggestions from members about places you’d like to visit. Please send your ideas to nelsonbotanicalsociety@gmail.com.
Information on trips and organiser contact details are given in the monthly email newsletter. Please let the organiser know if you intend to come no later than the end of the Thursday before so we can send time and meeting information, arrange car pooling, and notify cancellations or changes. Passengers are expected to pay 15 cents per kilometre to the driver.
Field trips last a full day, so you’ll need to bring lunch and snacks, and also appropriate footwear and clothing.
Although the society does have a permit to collect small samples for identification purposes on Department of Conservation land, it is not permitted to collect seed or cuttings for private use or to hand on to other parties. On private land, we should only collect material if we have the permission of the landowner.
Meetings
Meetings with speakers are held from April to September on the Monday following the field trip. They start at 7.30 pm and the venue is the Jaycee Room at Founders Park. Speakers will usually talk for about an hour and there will be time for questions. Tea and coffee are served after, and there is a sales table.
Click here for a map of Founders Park
Camps
Over some major holiday weekends and at other times, two- to three-day camps are held at a variety of locations, sometimes in conjunction with other botanical societies. Advance notice and details of these will be in the monthly newsletter and on the website.
Forthcoming trips, camps & speakers
Details of trips and camps will be advised in the monthly ’What’s on?’, which is emailed to Botanical Society members in the first week of the month, and on this website closer to the time. Members, please sign up using the link in the latest ‘What’s on?’. Non-members and prospective members are welcome but please email nelsonbotanicalsociety@gmail.com for details.
7–11 April
Ōkārito camp
Leader: Shannel Courtney
Organiser: Helen Lindsay
Our camp at Ōkārito is planned for the week after Easter. Apologies that I put the wrong start date on last month’s ‘What’s On’ as we will actually be arriving on the night of 7th April with the first trip on the 8th. This will give us three full days of botanising to make the long trip worthwhile and to give us flexibility around bad weather. You can of course join the camp at any time that you choose.
The area has a variety of ecosystems that are easily accessible including wetlands, beaches, tall forests, lakes, glacial valleys etc. For example, the Trig Walk takes you through wetlands and then into higher forest to a lookout with stunning views and the more adventurous can continue along the Three Mile Track ending up at Three Mile Lagoon. We may see many plants that we do not see in our own region. The Ōkārito Schoolhouse, which is very cheap and basic accommodation, has been booked for four nights arriving Tuesday 7th April and leaving Saturday morning. There is a campground at Ōkārito too, and for those who prefer a bit more comfort there are opportunities to find accommodation at Franz Joseph township, about 30 minutes away. So that we know how many are coming please confirm your participation by 20th March 2026.
19 April
Brook Waimarama Sanctuary field trip
Leader: TBC
Organiser: Henry Hart
Details to come
20 April
Annual General Meeting
Venue: Jaycee Room, Founders Park
Time: 7.30 pm
Speaker: Rebecca Bowater, ‘New Zealand Alpine Plants’
Prospective members are welcome to attend.